Fighting Addictions And Substance Abuse

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said substance abuse among children must be understood as a child protection issue, rather than as a matter of public health concern. Delivering the Pataliputra Pragya Pravah lecture on 'Childhood Beyond Drugs: Protection, Care and Reintegration' at the Bihar Lok Bhavan here, Justice Kant cited a recent Lancet study to say that at least one in five teenagers in India were at moderate to high risk of substance abuse. "Substance abuse among children must be understood not only as a matter of public health concern, but as a child protection issue as well," he said. Justice Kant stressed the need for a "child-sensitive response" to addiction to protect not only the child's physical and mental well-being but also their dignity and sense of self-worth. He said, "Restoration means creating conditions in which a child can again experience what childhood ought to provide -- education, relationship, play, trust, and the confidence of a future bey

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Arunachal Pradesh is placed among the top four states in the country for all categories of substance abuse, the assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question by senior BJP member Wanglin Lowangdong, Health & Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge said that according to a survey, the magnitude of substance use in the northeastern state is alarming'. The survey examined the extent and pattern of use of eight categories of psychoactive substances - alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine, amphetamine stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and hallucinogens - and found that Arunachal Pradesh is among the top four states in India, the minister said. He added that opium cultivation has been in practice among several tribes of the state for centuries while poppy cultivation and opium consumption have been deeply ingrained in the socio-economic and cultural life of the people in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. A report by the Central Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) warns of ...

The Indian government continues its commitment to tackling the issue of substance use disorder in the country, recognizing the significant social and health implications it carries